Visit By Head Of Games Design At TT-Games - Arthur Parsons

We are very lucky to welcome Arthur Parsons to our Games Design studio at UCLan this week.
Arthur is Head of Games Design at TT_Games and as such, it's so amazing that he takes time to visit our course and speak directly and openly with our students.
Arthur gave a great presentation about the criteria involved in designing and making a Lego game and offering a broad insight into the workings of the industry in terms of producing and marketing a game.
It's great to have the chance to speak with experienced industry experts such as Arthur.
His warmth and enthusiasm always motivate our students so much and encourage them to work hard and develop their passion for games design.

 

League Of Legends Rankings.

Team GLC (Curro Grantleigh) were the victors of MSSA's 2020 Online Schools' Championships, and are now ranked second in the country.

Mind Sports South Africa (MSSA) commitment to League of Legends remains steadfast.
Thus, even though the League of Legends game title is not played at IESF's 11th World Championships in Seoul in 2019, MSSA shall still select a Protea Team which, at worst, will play in online test matches. 

The competition during 2019 proved to be fiercely contested, and with the 2020 season alreeady underway,  in the form of the Online School Championships, Team GLC (Curro Grantleigh) made its mark by winning the championship.

Northcliff High School also put in a good showing, and, although not winning the championship, played suitably well enough to shoot through to the top of the rankings.

However, there is not much between the top three teams, and it will be interesting to see how the year unfolds.
The current South African rankings for the League of Legends esports title is as follows:

Pos	Name of Player		Club	Points
1	PR0NHS	20	Northcliff High	201.6
2	Team GLC	20	Curro Grantleigh	200.6
3	TEW	20	Sasolburg High School	195.3
4	The Lunar Squad	20	Empangeni High School	128.4
5	White Rabbit Gaming	19	White Rabbit Gaming	118.9
6	PRG LOL B	19	Paul Roos Gymnasium	118.9
7	The Pythons	19	Hoërskool Randburg	118.9
8	RunDownGang	19	Bishops Esports Society	118.9
9	Valkyries	19	Valhalla	118.9
10	Curro Aurora LOL	19	Curro Aurora	118.9
11	Eagles	19	LVL 1	118.9
12	PRG LOL A	19	Paul Roos Gymnasium	118.9
13	MiricleWhipp	19	Helpmekaar	118.9
14	Genx Nightwalkers	18	Generation X	118.9
15	St Stithians	18	St Stithians	118.9
16	Good Gaming LoL	18	Good Gaming	118.9
17	Yenex	18	THS Tom Naudé	118.9
18	HS Parys	18	HSP	118.9
19	Tuks 1	18	Tuks Mind Sports Club	118.9
20	Valerian	18	Valhalla	118.9
21	Team Try Hard	18	FRAGCON	118.9
22	Valor	18	Valhalla	118
23	Normies LOL A	19	NHHS	117.6
24	SHS001	19	Sasolburg High School	108
25	Eternals	18	Paul Roos Gimnasium	105.7
26	GHS LoL	18	Eastern Cape	103.6
27	DBK	19	Fairmont High School	100.7
28	Smegols	19	Valhalla	100
29	Team Vengence	18	Valhalla	100
30	The legion of potatoes	20	Empangeni High	100
31	Northwood High School	18	Northwood High School	100
32	Vanilla	18	Valhalla	97.5
33	Valerie	18	Valhalla	90
34	Vayel	18	Valhalla	90
35	Rift Raiders	19	Helpmekaar	80.8

Also read:

• Selecting the national Protea teams for Mind Sports South Africa.
• The road to Eilat
• IESF announces first three titles for 12th World Championships
• Esports: MSSA's 24th Western Cape Provincial Championships - 28 and 29 March 2020.
• Board gaming: MSSA's 23rd Western Cape Championships - 23 & 24 March 2019
• Rankings: DotA 2 rankings
• Rankings: First in Battle, first in rankings. (Paladins)
• Rankings: PRO EVOLUTION SOCCER (PES) rankings
• Rankings: Tekken 7 rankings
• Video on NWU sponsorship.

Spring Game Jam 2020 Is Right At The Corner!

Please sign up ASAP if you have not done so!

Please check out more information here and check out the previous Game Jam events!

January 31- February 2, 2020
Opening Ceremony: January 31, 2020, 5PM

The Sinking City | Review

Quick Facts:

• Release date: 27 June 2019
• Developer: Frogwares
• Genres: Action-Adventure, Survival horror
• Platforms: Nintendo Switch, Microsoft Windows, Xbox One, PS4

The Sinking City | Review

The Sherlock Holmes games' developer, frogwares has done a very good job this time. The Sinking City is a third-person detective adventure set in a fictional adaptation of 1920s New England, inspired by the works of influential (and, indeed, controversial) horror author H.P. Lovecraft. divers reveal an ancient cavern covered up underneath Oakmont loaded up with otherworldly statues of cosmic demons, and are driven mad by the discovery—a franticness that starts to spread through the city and awakens strange, vicious creatures the local people call wylebeasts. The game is divided between solving crimes and shooting beasts, despite the fact that the gulf in quality between each kind of play is quite wide.

The Sinking City places you in a detailed world loaded up with the incredible and absurd horrors befitting of any Lovecraftian story, yet gives a fresh however reverent take where others may have remained on the tracks laid about a century prior. So, while developer Frogwares' dig into Cthulhu legend has fantastic moments, the monotonous elements of this pulpy 1920s story can be the wrong kind of terrifying.

The Sinking City starts solid. You'll soon find yourself on a beguiling whistle-stop voyage through Lovecraft's tall stories, investigating dammed caves for lost campaigns and managing with genealogy obsessed tyrants. Rather than insensitive map markers you often need to search out street corners yourself, setting pins and connecting the dots to unravel a wider mystery. 

Robert Throgmorton, one of the first people you meet who looks like an ape. Later you find out (which sounds really fucked up) that it's because his literal father went to Africa and literally had sex with a female gorilla. This seems to be inspired by the short story Facts Concerning The Late Arthur Jermyn And His Family, where a man went to Africa, produced kids with a "white ape of some unknown species, less shaggy than any recorded variety, and infinitely closer mankind" and consequently fucked up his whole heredity from that point onwards. Apparently, Lovecraft's skill as an author did not stretch out to nuance.

As one may anticipate from a Lovecraftian game, combat, discovery, monsters, macabre and otherworldly imagery, and the visions that impelled Reed down this path in the first place progressively take a toll on both his health and sanity. This results in some disturbing psychological scenes, illusions, and psychosis. It's a real hoot.

The characters you interact with, however, are intriguing and well-acted, and I was pleasantly surprised by how unique and thematically, suitable each person is written and performed. From mob bosses to cult leaders to crooked politicians and that's just the beginning, every interaction felt interesting and helped to fill out the lived-in feel of Oakmont. unfortunately, this shed a glaring spotlight on the shamelessly recycled character models. It's particularly noticeable that the majority of the dark men you actually speak to have the same cartoonish face (he was racist for damn sure, he once described black people as "semi-human"). I found this very distracting, particularly during some of the most shocking moments that otherwise do a passable job of depicting the racial tensions of the era.

the voice acting is strong and the detective gameplay is the best aspect of The Sinking City. The "Mind Palace" makes an appreciated come back from the Sherlock Holmes games and works well here when piecing together observations and giving you more details on the tough calls you'll have to make. The greater part of the actual detective gameplay comes down to finding clues around the environment and using different archives around the city, for example, police records, the library, city hall, and different others to either find specific people or locations.

There aren't any obvious waypoints to guide you along, you'll constantly rely on your map as you search for specific street names or locations, which to be frank is really tedious and time-consuming. This is especially true in the earlier part of the game when you're forced to tromp all over the map before you've unlocked fast-travel locations. Most games would have quest objectives radiate outward from a central location, however, The Sinking City attempts to show-off its diverse neighborhoods by sending you through every one of them in turn. This felt good at the beginning as I was surprised by the different cultures and immense neighborhood within the island.  Notwithstanding, this immediately turned irritating as I looked for alternate ways around the maze of overflowed streets. I was all the more eager to sit on the long loading screens during fast travel than having to frequently plot routes that required jumping in an out of boats, staying away from infested zones, and getting around a few blocked paths.

The Verdict

Overall, as much as I adore the story and atmosphere of The Sinking City, it certainly feels like a budget title at times. If you can get past the weird Lovecraftian bits, weak combat, harmless jank, tedious and time-consuming navigation, and enjoy compelling stories, exciting environments, memorable characters, and a solid detective experience that won't hold your hand and throw tough choices your way, you shouldn't pass up on it.

MARCH 25Th DreamForge Grav-StuG Kickstarter!

We have a date! I hope to see you there....

Even if this is not something that you can manage at the moment or if you simply are not interested in this particular kit, if you know someone who might be... give them a heads up!

Thank you!
Mark

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